In my last blog posts, I provided some general insights into the topic of sustainability. In this context, I first defined the term more precisely and then took a look at governmental European and international agreements. However, as there are many challenges involved in achieving these, it is essential that not only the governments of all countries work together, but that we as individuals also play our part.
Therefore, it is necessary to find out to what extent people are aware of the sustainability issues, we are facing at the moment, and how an interactive educational approach could help to make the topic more present and show people with simple means how they can contribute to more sustainability.
But before I begin to expand my research into the topic of sustainability education to find out what systems and opportunities for personal education in this area already exist, what platforms, projects and initiatives are available for personal engagement, I would like to conduct a first interview to gain further insights into the topic.
For this purpose, I will interview a friend who has been intensively involved in Fridays for Future for many years and studies Psychology with focus on environmental psychology. Therefore she has a lot in-depth knowledge in this area, as she has also come into contact with many different people.
It will be a semi-structured guided interview in order to provide a rough framework of what the conversation should be about, but at the same time offer the necessary freedom to deviate from this and gain further interesting insights into the topic. The interview will be in German, but to make this blog post accessible to all, I have translated the questions into English.
Interview guide
Introductory questions:
- To what extent have you already dealt with the topic of sustainability and how are you involved in this area?
- You have certainly come into contact with many different people from different social groups in this context. What is your perception of the current level of education on sustainability issues and environmental awareness in society?
- What obstacles do you see with regard to people’s involvement and participation in the topic of sustainability?
Key questions:
- Do you think existing educational approaches are effective enough to promote general sustainability awareness?
- Do you see specific challenges or barriers in communicating sustainability issues to different age groups?
- Do you have any ideas or suggestions on how to better communicate sustainability issues in different social and cultural contexts?
- What role could schools or universities play in promoting a deeper understanding of sustainability?
- What role do you think the media landscape plays in facilitating or inhibiting a comprehensive understanding of sustainability?
- What forms of communication could be particularly effective in raising awareness of the issue among the general public?
- How would you assess the role of government or other public institutions in promoting sustainability awareness?
- What types of interactive offers, activities or events could help to increase general public engagement in sustainability?
- Do you think an individualized approach to sustainability issues (e.g. adapting to different professions, lifestyles or age groups) could be more effective?
- Do you have any idea what incentives or motivations could encourage people to integrate sustainability more into their daily lives?
I’m very much looking forward to the outcomes of the interview and hoping to gain more insights into the topic from the perspective of someone who was involved in climate action a lot.
